1919 .] 
Departmental Reports. 
205 
In 1898 Mr. Alex. McKay forwarded a sample of graphitic sandstone 
from Wairarapa to the Colonial Laboratory. The composition of this 
was as follows : Carbon as graphite, 15T8 per cent. ; water, 5T1 per cent. ; 
earthy matter, 79-71 per cent. Lab. No. 32, 1899, p. 8, No. 7937. 
29. Hawke’s Bay . — The rocks of the Ruahine Range, like those of the 
Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges, are carbonaceous and perhaps graphitic 
in places. The following analysis refers to graphitic shale collected by 
Mr. A. Harding at Kereru : Fixed carbon, 12-52 per cent. ; hydrocarbon,, 
traces ; water, 5-21 per cent. ; ash, 82-27 per cent. Lab. No. 26, 1892, 
p. 27, No. 5635. 
30. Mount Egmont . — Pieces of graphite, some of excellent quality,, 
have been found in several places on the lower slopes of Mount Egmont, 
usually in stream-beds. There is little hope of the mineral being found 
in quantity, but at present prices* even small lumps are worth collecting. 
About 1878 Mr. P. E. Cheal forwarded a specimen of graphite discovered 
in Waiokura Creek, near Waimate, Taranaki, to the Colonial Museum and 
Laboratory. Portions of this yielded the following results to analysis :— 
(1.) 
(2.) 
Fixed carbon 
86-9 
92-5 
Volatile matter (including water) 
6-6 
4-5 
Ash 
6-5 
3-0 
100-0 
100-0 
Lab. No. 14, 1879, pp. 27-28, No. 2386. 
In January, 1881, Mr. G. Draper forwarded to the Colonial Laboratory 
a sample of graphite obtained from a locality near Mount Egmont, where 
it occurred in water-worn masses. The sample had the following com¬ 
position : Carbon, 61-73 per cent. ; water, 1-98 per cent. ; siliceous matter r 
36-29 per cent. Lab. No. 16, 1882, p. 31, No. 2872. 
Probably Mr. Draper’s sample was that mentioned by Park (Rep. Geol. 
Explor., No. 18, 1887, p. 179) as having been found by Mr. J. White in the 
bed of the Kapokonui (Kaupokonui) River, some miles west of Manaia, at a 
point about 3 chains below the bridge on the main road from Hawera to 
Opunake. The original boulder was about 1 ft. in diameter, and had a mass 
of brown sandstone adhering to one side. 
A specimen of graphite found near a branch of the Mangorei Stream 
was shown a few years ago to Mr. W. Gibson, at that time a member of 
the Geological Survey staff. Mr. Gibson made a careful search for further 
specimens, but none was found. 
31. Hauraki Goldfield .—From time to time specimens of graphite, no 
doubt similar in origin to those found near Mount Egmont, have been 
reported from the Hauraki Goldfield. In 1897 or thereabouts a sample 
brought to the Thames School of Mines consisted of lamellar or platy 
graphite, which on analysis was found to contain a high percentage of fixed 
carbon. Pieces of wood, usually silicified, but in many cases still containing 
more or less carbon, are of common occurrence in tuffs, Ac. Carbonized 
wood occurs in the Waihi tridymite-rhyolite at the Grand Junction and 
Waihi Mines. These occurrences indicate the possible origin of the graphite 
found elsewhere. Coaly or carbonaceous seams are also found in many 
parts of the Hauraki Goldfield, and in places are considerably affected 
by contact with volcanic rocks. The following analysis of a coaly seam 
* Written in August, 1918. Since the armistice was declared the prices of graphite 
and many other mineral substances have fallen heavily. 
